The Emperor's Gauntlet
by D.J. Scales
Summary: The Arkeyan Empire has taken over the entire universe and eliminated all those who dishonored their race forcing Alexander Ting to take on the Emperor's Gauntlet but can she defeat the Generals and the Arkeyan Sorcerer King and save the universe in less than a week? Set after Malefor Attacks.
1. Alex's Decision

Disclaimer: I don't own Jackie Chan Adventures or Skylanders. I only own the Arkeyan Sorcerer Empire and anything not seen on those series. Special thanks goes to Alana Fox for allowing me to use her Character Alex Ting for this story.

**The Emperor's Gauntlet**

**Alex's Decision**

It had been 130 days since Porunga, the Eternal Dragon of Namek had been summoned and 102 days since Genghis had been summoned. Drake, the Arkeyan Sorcerer King had used a time spell to cleanse both sets of dragonballs which removed any negative energy that was contained in the balls themselves so that another Shadow Dragon outbreak would not occur. Right now he was sitting on his throne in New Camelot knowing full that somebody would challenge him to a battle and attempt to face the Emperor's Gauntlet.

Currently Alex was back in Skylands visiting from her home dimension and speaking with Eon and Adinda about what happened since her last visit and needless to say she was deeply shocked.

"I can't believe the Arkeyans have enslaved this entire universe," Alex said, "Why would they do this?"

"Believe me I'm shocked as well but the dishonors that were committed against them by the inhabitants of Earth pushed them over the edge and caused them to enslave the planet and the universe," Eon said, "They took over the universe in less than a week. I thought it would take a lot longer than that for the Arkeyans to enslave Skylands let alone this universe."

"And they've already killed off everyone who dishonored our people and the families of everyone who dishonored our people," Adinda said, "Even though I'm an Arkeyan Sorceress and even as I stand here talking to you I am still shocked at what my people are capable of doing."

"What can we do to reverse this?" Alex questioned, "Is there a way to save the universe?"

"You'd have to get an audience with the Arkeyan Sorcerer Kign and challenge him to a one on one battle," Eon spoke, "But to do that you have to clear the Sorcerer King's Gauntlet."

"What is Sorcerer King's gauntlet and how is that going to help?" Alex asked confused.

"The Arkeyan Sorcerer King's gauntlet is a series of six back to back battles with King Drake himself and his most powerful generals," Adinda said, "Nobody has even beaten the Gauntlet in over 10,000 years."

"Knowing this Alex are you sure you want to take on the Emperor's gauntlet?" Eon asked.

"if this is the only way to save this universe than I have no choice," Alex said.

"Very well Alex," Adinda said, "Eon will show you the way to the Emperor's gauntlet but once inside you'll be on your own. The Emperor's gauntlet states that once you enter the only way out is either you defeat the Generals in battle or you die trying and these Arkeyans are the most powerful Arkeyan Sorcerers yet. You'll need all the help you can get."

Over in New Camelot the governors were discussing the Emperor's gauntlet and the challenger who was going to attempt to survive the gauntlet itself by defeating the Emperor and the generals in the process.

"Alex Ting is an idiot to attempt to take on the Emperor's Gauntlet," Ventus said, "There's a reason nobody has challenged it for over 10,000 years. The Emperor is too powerful to be defeated."

"The last time somebody attempted to face the Emperor's Gauntlet got ripped to pieces literally," Aqua added, "Nobody can defeat the emperor so why the hell is Alex going to take him on now?"

"Perhaps she wants to revive those killed during our takeover of this universe," Terrador assumed.

"If she plans to do to that then she's out of luck, Porunga's Dragonballs are being cleansed from the negative energy just to make sure we got it all out," Flora said, "And the Emperor's generals are going to rip her to pieces in the upcoming battles. Either way this will be amusing to watch."

"But aside from that we have another problem," Techno said, "Word of mouth says that Count Moneybone, the Current Lord of the Underworld, has created a clockwork army and is planning something evil and word on the street says that Kaos' Mother is coming back to Skylands soon."

"If Kaos, his mother, his cabal, and Count Moneybone team up we could be in for a major battle and let me just say this," Kira said, "When all is said and done the only one who will rule the underworld is going to be me. I'm the only true leader of the underworld of Skylands and I'm not gonna let some upstart skeleton show me up!"

"Ease up Kira we need to focus on the real situation," Shasta said to Kira, "Alex is going to face our leader and his personal guard and when all is said and done we'll still rule this universe."

"Even if the Emperor loses we've already sent Porunga's dragonballs to their home universe so they won't be back for another 130 days and we're gonna need them to undo any damage that Kaos and company may cause within that time," Celestia said, "So either way we can't love and Genghis doesn't revive anybody who dishonored us more than once but still there is the fact that Alex could either ask Skylus or Genghis for another wish to lead into reviving those who dishonored us."

"Then I suggest you guys better brace yourselves for the worst," The messenger said before leaving.


	2. The Sea General

**The Sea General**

"Here we are Alex," Adinda said, "Emperor Drake's ancestral castle, where you'll face the Emperor's gauntlet. From here you are on your own, Emperor Drake and his best and strongest generals will be expecting you and they will hold nothing back. Either you defeat them or they'll kill you on the spot."

Alex gulped while nodding at the same time knowing full well that if she died in battle then all hope she had for reviving all those killed by the Arkeyans died with her. Alex steeled her nerves as she entered the Emperor's gauntlet.

"This is it Adinda," Eon said as soon as Alex entered the Gauntlet's entrance, "All hope to revive those killed by the Arkeyan Weapon Masters rests solely on Alex defeating the Sorcerer King and his five Generals and if she loses a single match against one of the generals and they eliminate her on the spot then all hope we have to revive all those killed by the Arkeyan Weapon Masters when they enslaved the earth to restore honor to their race dies with her."

In the Arkeyan Sorcerer Emperor's Gauntlet, Alex was examining the weigh tof the task she had ahead of her. All the lives of those eliminated by the Arkeyan Sorcerer Empire of this world and this universe were at stake and if she failed to defeat the Emperor and wish them back to life, then all the lives of those who died at the hands of the Arkeyans would suffer eternal torture until the end of creation every moment for all the crimes committed against the Arkeyan Sorcerer Empire.

'Can I really defeat Emperor Drake and the five leaders of his imperial guard which also serve as the personal guard of his six sisters and his cousins?' Alex thought as she continued walking towards the chamber where the first of the Emperor's Imperial Generals was waiting, 'These Arkeyans make the Governors of the Arkeyan Sorcerer Empire look like green horn rookies and they're much stronger than even Governess Celestia herself and she's said to be the most powerful of all the eight Governors. She's also said to be able to hold her own against them in battle and in magic which speaks volumes about them. Still I have to remember what I'm fighting for and why I'm here and that is what will give me the edge.'

In the Underworld of Skylands, T-Bone was chatting with Ghost Roaster, Chop Chop, Eye Brawl and surprisingly Agatha, the personal dragon bodyguard of the Phantom Arkeyan Governess about the task that Alex Ting had ahead of her as they had front row seets to witness the eternal torture of all those who dishonored the Arkeyan Sorcerer Empire.

"Alex Ting has a big and difficult task ahead of her," T-Bone said, "Skylands is under the rule of the Arkeyans once again and all those who have dishonored the Empire in anyway are currently suffering the full wrath of the Arkeyan Empire's Sorcerers past and present. If Alex intends to revive them all in time before a year is up she must defeat King Drake."

"Except that King Drake leads the Arkeyan Sorcerer Empire and he's the most powerful of all the Arkeyans and his imperial guard is just as powerful," Chop Chop said, "These sorcerers make the Arkeyan Governors look like rookies in terms of power, skill killer instinct and brutality. In fact some of the Generals are related to some of the governors and they were selected by the Emperor's father himself. Well most of them anyway, Drake did bring in a general or two of his own but the point is that they're much more dangerous."

"That's why only those who faced the Governors' Gauntlet are allowed to take on the Emperor's Gauntlet," Eye Brawl explained, "The Governors Gauntlet weeds out all but the strongest, bravest, and most dedicated and skilled warriors and sorcerers. Access to a wish from any one of the Eternal Dragons isn't something that's given to just anyone. Whoever gets a wish from the Eternal Dragon could either save the universe or conquer it. That's why the power of the Eternal Dragon is safeguarded at all times."

"Getting back on track, Alex is gonna find that she's in way over her head," Ghost Roaster said, "The first general is Lamorak, Governess Aqua's elder cousin and a master of ice magic the likes of which neither Aqua, Admiral Siebold and Marlon have ever seen before. This sorceress is going to be out for blood and to show that king Drake didn't make a mistake in bringing her into the Imperial Guard and making her an Imperial General. Personally Speaking the only reason she go the position was that she was the first Arkeyan in over 10,000 years to meet the Oracle of Skylands."

"You realize that I'm standing right here and I can just go tell Aqua what you just said about her cousin right?" Agatha asked before continuing, "What's to stop me from having the Entire Aquatic Arkeyan Civilization impale you on a stick here and now?"

"In case you forgot Agatha Ghost Roaster is already dead," Chop Chop reminded, "And we've all seen what Aqua's capable of doing when she gets mad. Entire aquatic based civilizations will suffer under the weight of her rage. She wiped out an entire civilization of fish men just because they insulted her and her people and Imperial General Lamorak led the attack so believe me when I say that she is not somebody to take lightly."

Back with Alex she stood before the door leading to the first of the five Imperial Generals before the door opened to reveal an artic battlefield with an ice element sorceress standing in front of the only other door. The Ice Sorceress was wearing Aquatic Arkeyan robes and had snow white hair and Icy blue eyes showing that this was an Arkeyan Sorceress and a high ranking sorceress to boot.

"So you're the mystery girl that Cousin Aqua and her fellow Governors failed to defeat in the Governors Gauntlet," The Imperial Arkeyan General said, "I'm Imperial General Lamorak and Emperor Drake is expecting you but to get to him you'll have to defeat me in battle but be warned, once you enter the arena there is no turning back, you either defeat me or I eliminate you in battle."

"Bring it on," Alex said brandishing the sword that Eon had given her as she and Lamorak did battle.

"This is it," Flannery said back at the Cloudbreak isles as she summoned a viewing screen, "The Emperor's Imperial Generals are gonna rip the runt who defeated Cousin Shasta to pieces."

"At this rate Flannery we may not need to step in and challenge Alex ourselves," Marlon said.

"Marlon's right Flannery," Luna added, "Lamorak is gonna turn Alex into an ice block and shatter her to pieces just like we tore Avalon to pieces and destroyed the entire planet and every star and planet in Avalon's galaxy. This was to drive home Emperor Drake's speech to the infinite dimensions."

At the fight Alex was getting her ass kicked by Lamorak as the Imperial General sent a torrent of razor sharp ice shards at her before going for an ice blade attack.

"Running on empty already?" Lamorak mocked, "You defeating my cousin in battle was pure fluke."

"It was not a fluke," Alex said dodging yet another set of razor sharp ice shards.

Lamorak unfortunately kept up the pressure forcing Ale to dodge and evade attacks.

"When I'm through eliminating you Emperor Drake and Cousin Aqua will be pleased," Lamorak said firing yet another torrent of ice shards only to find Alex had vanished.

"First lesson of battle, Focus on the task at hand," Alex's voice rang out as she drop kicked Lamorak as they two of them then fought hand to hand with Lamorak having the edge.

"Now you see why I'm an Imperial General," Lamorak sneered overpowering Alex before kneeing her in the chest and tossing her across the floor, "I'm much stronger than Governess Celestia."

'She's right, how do I defeat somebody that strong?' Alex thought before noticing Lamorak taking a breather, 'Looks like Lamorak runs out of breath eventually that's my chance.'

Alex took the opening and began using combo attacks upon Lamorak but he Sea General recovered and attempted to blast Alex with more magic who in turn dodged the ice.

Alex continued dodging the ice attacks and attacking when she had an opening till she defeated Imperial General Lamorak though Lamorak did a number on Alex in the process but she still won.

Over in the Cloudbreak Isles, Flannery, Marlon, Luna and Kayleigh who just joined them saw that Alex had defeated Lamorak with great difficulty but given the fact that Lamorak was Emperor Drake's newest Imperial General they weren't really surprised that Lamorak was defeated.

"Lamorak was a complete and utter novice," Luna began as she continued discussing Lamorak's performance, "But considering she was recently brought into the Imperial Arkeyan Sorcerer Army which serves as the elite body guards of the Royal Family It's no surprised that Lamorak was defeated in battle."

"True and the other Imperial Generals are much stronger than Lamorak anyway," Kayleigh chimed in, "I have no doubt that Imperial General Galahad will dispose of Alex and eliminate her in battle."

"Provided General Galahad stays on task," Flannery said, "You know how he gets when he's compared to Imperial General Lancelot and Lancelot is Galahad's uncle by blood Luna."

"Yes I'm aware of this Flannery but Galahad is a great leader when it comes down to it," Luna said, "But either way Alex may either survive the gauntlet or the Emperor and his Imperial Generals will eliminate her on the spot."

As they were discussing Adinda and Eon who were joined by Hugo, Flynn and Cali were watching Alex's progress through the Emperor's gauntlet and while they were impressed with her victory over Imperial General Lamorak they knew that the gauntlet was only just beginning.

"Alexandra Ting has done well so far but that battle was just the tip of the iceberg," Eon said, "The other Imperial Generals are all much stronger and Alexandra will have tougher battles to begin."

"But they're just the forerunners," Hugo said, "Emperor Drake himself is much more powerful than the Imperial Generals combined and in terms of power he makes the Governors look like rookies."

"Yes I understand your concerns Hugo and I understand the odds are against her but with access to Genghis and Porunga history for the time being and with Skylus' Dragonballs in the hands Emperor Drake we had no choice but to send Alex to face the Emperor's gauntlet," Adinda said to Hugo.

"Then the fate of all Skylands rests upon these next five battles?" Flynn asked, "Sounds like its sink or swim at this point."

"For once Flynn I actually agree with you," Cali said, "All our hopes now rests with Alex."


	3. Villainous Interlude

**Villainous Interlude**

Over on the Gigant horse which had exited no space and returned to the outlands, Kaos and his cabal were discussing their next plan of attack and attempt to take over all of Skylands.

"We need a plan to take over Skylands," Kaos said, "I vote we go the Cloudbreak Isles. The place is unprotected and home to a magical volcano that erupts once every 100 years."

"What good does that do us?" Muir asked, "Unless the volcano is a magical volcano."

"Exactly Muir," Kaos said, "This volcano replenishes the magic in Skylands every 100 hears and once we hijack it and fill it with petrified darkness then we'll be all powerful."

"Provided the Skylanders and the Arkeyan Empire don't eliminate us and our allies in the process," Glumshanks said, "The Arkeyan Sorcerer Emperor's speech has all of creation terrified of the Arkeyans to the point that even the smallest insult against them will result in the most painful death."

"Relax Glumshanks that's why we send somebody whose already dead to attack the Arkeyan Empire," Malefor said, "An undead invasion should easily keep the Arkeyan Empire busy long enough for us to do as we please."

"Now all we need is somebody already dead whose bold enough to take on the Arkeyans," Muir said.

"Any suggestions Malefor?" Kaos asked.

"I know quite a few guys in the underworld that can take on the Arkeyans," Malefor said as the Gigant Horse flew towards the Cloudbreak Isles with it's massive space fleet.

And if that doesn't work we'll unleash upon the earth of that interloping whore Alex the full wrath of the Zangyack Space Empire's armada and flood the earth with the Sanzu River," Kaos added, "That'll show that whore what happens to all whose who dare to defy us for the last time."

The Gigant Horse's occupants all laughed loudly and evilly as the massive flagship arrived at Kaos' Fortress in the Cloudbreak Isles and to make matters worse the Earth in Alex' home universe was also quaking from the Darkness and from the impending doom that would befall it soon enough but little did the inhabitants know that the impending doom was already being set into motion and that a big surprise would be waiting.

"So do you remember the plan Count Moneybone?" Malefor asked as the current lord of the undead was standing before the Dark Master himself, "Summon the Sanzu River, unleash your clockwork army and cause mass destruction, mayhem and chaos everywhere!"

"Yes Lord Malefor I remember," Count Moneybone said to the Dark Master, "Leave it all to me. I'm an undead count and the current lord of the underworld not to mention the richest of the rich in case you forgot. So I have everything under control."

"Good to know you have confidence," Kaos said to Count Moneybone, "So get going already."

Count Moneybone nodded and left to carryout Emperor Kaos' orders to cause chaos, havoc, destruction, fear and terror upon Alex's home dimension and upon all those she cared about.

"Do you guys think that putting all our trust into Count Moneybone is the smartest idea we came up with?" Glumshanks asked Kaos, Malefor, and Robert Muir, "Count Moneybone isn't a pleasant guy."

"I didn't summon Count Moneybone to be pleasant Glumshanks," Malefor said to the troll butler, "I summoned him because I needed somebody to cause a distraction to keep those Arkeyan Sorcerers and Arkeyan Robots busy while we set up our scheme to corrupt the volcano with Petrified Darkness."

"But are you sure that Count Moneybone can do this?" Muir questioned the Dark Master, "Moneybone is more of a count than a fighter so this is a big gamble you're taking Malefor."

"I'm well aware of that Muir and I'm also well aware of the fact that Moneybone seems more like a count than a fighter but you have to remember that Count Moneybone also created his very own clockwork army," Malefor reminded the alchemist, "So Count Moneybone's got a plan to take over Alex's home universe."

"Remember he's also the Lord of the Underworld and for a reason and the richest guy down there," Kaos spoke as they were setting up shop in Kaos' Fortress in the Cloudbreak Isles.

The villains ended their discussion on that note as they all geared up for their latest plan to takeover and enslave all of Skylands and possibly the infinite dimension which relied on successfully overthrowing the Arkeyan Sorcerer Empire and the Arkeyan Robot Empire.


	4. The Earth General

**The Earth General **

Alex had barely recovered from her brutal battle with Imperial General Lamorak and it was the first of six battles she would have to fight back to back. The other Imperial Generals were much much stronger than Lamorak which mean that Alex would have her work cut out for her.

"So far Alex is progressing well," Hugo said, "But these Imperial Generals aren't wimps."

"Relax Hugo, Alex will do fine," Flynn said watching her progress via an Arkeyan Magic Mirror, "And at least she doesn't' have to fight the Arkeyan Empire Armada."

"Guys we're not talking about the Arkeyan Armada, we're talking about Alex's progress in the Emperor's Gauntlet," Cali reminded Flynn and Hugo who on cue returned to the task at hand, "Fortunately Adinda was able to calibrate this Arkeyan Viewing Mirror so we could see Alex's progress in the gauntlet but I still can't believe the Arkeyan Empire enslaved all of earth, the entire universe, destroyed Avalon, everyone who lived on Avalon and wiped out every star and planet in Avalon's galaxy, wiped out all thoe who dishonored the Arkeyan Empire and eliminated all the relatives of those who dishonored the Empire in the process. What the hell caused this?"

"A number of factors caused this but the last straw that broke the empire's back was Shendu ordering Drago to polish every suit of armor he could find as punishment for yelling at that horrid brat Stacey by saying that the divorce of her parents in a way was her fault," Flynn said, "Personally I would've said the same thing to that brat since the whore has done nothing but complain about losing everything since the divorce. No wonder the Arkeyans wiped out Avalon, every star and planet in Avalon's galaxy and eliminated not only everyone who lived there but also everyone who lived on the planets in Avalon's galaxy. Now the lizard's paying for his crimes against the empire via eternal torture till the end of creation and so are all those who dishonored the Arkeyan Empire."

The viewing mirror changed to show a vision of Shendu in spirit form enduring the rage of the Entire Arkeyan Empire past and present as they were going all out with the magic bolts to drive home their point and it wasn't just him being tortured all those who dishonored the empire and their relatives were also enduring the rage of the entire Arkeyan Empire past and present and their screams of pain echoed across the entire underworld.

"Remind us not to piss off your people ever again Adinda," Hugo said, speaking for himself, Cali, and Flynn as the vision ended, "The spirits of all the Arkeyan Weapon Master from the past are driving home Emperor Drake's point!"

"What did you expect from the most dangerous empire of Sorcerers?" Adinda asked, "Slaughter, killing and fighting at this point is the only way my people know how to solve all of their problems since Emperor Drake made his speech across all the infinite dimension and had that vision shown to remind them that were dead serious about wiping out an entire universe worth of people should any of them dishonor us."

"Your people take honor to their race very seriously and brutally," Cali said nervously to Adinda, "But let's just hope Alex can get a wish from Skylus and reverse all of this before the deadline."

In the Emperor's Gauntlet Alex had recovered from her battle via a spell she learned in her home universe before she continued onto the second arena to face the second Imperial General.

When she arrived she found herself on a rocky battlefield an on the otherside of the field stood the econd Imperial General she could have to fight and this one seemed to be much stronger than Imperial General Lamorak of Emperor Drake's Imperial Guard and wore a black coat and jeans with hiking boots and resembled Governor Terrador of the Gaia Arkeyans only slightly younger.

"Alexandra Ting I've been anticipating your arrival, I am Imperial Generala Galahad and I'd like to congratulate you on the defeat of Imperial General Lamorak even though she is easily the weakest and the newest of the Imperial Generals," The New Imperial General Galahad spoke clearly to emphasize that point.

"So if Lamorak's the weakest than what does that make you Galahad?" Alex retorted.

"Do you really need to ask?" Galahad seemingly mocked before getting serious and summoning a hammer staff, "With the abilities I have and the training I received from my uncle Governor Terrador of the Eight Arkeyan Governors you'll come to know me as the most powerful of all the Gaia Arkeyan Sorcerers you've ever faced and I'm much stronger than Lamorak."

Galahad brandished his hammer staff and began attacking Alex who countered the attack with her very own staff.

Galahad attacked again and forced Alex to dodge as the Imperial General slammed the earth throwing Alex off balance as Galahad delivered a powerful blow Alex's side as the attack damaged her ribs in the process and the blow knocked the wind out of her.

"She's supposed to be able to handle this yet Galahad's making mincemeat out of her," Hugo panicked as the viewing mirror shoed Galahad dodging an attack from Alex before dropping the hammer upon her doing even more damage, "Terrador's trained him very well."

"Considering he was trained by Governor Terrador and made an Imperial General by Drake himself I'm not surprised he's that strong," Eon said as Alex jumped into the air to avoid Galahad's earth based attacks, "However, Galahad is a Gaia Arkeyan and like every Gaia Arkeyan Sorcerer their powers are tied to the Earth and the Eternal Earth Source. Alex just has to stay airborne and she can dodge Galahad's attack's Hugo."

"Great idea but dodging alone isn't enough," Flynn reminded, "She's got to attack and soon."

Back at the battlefield Alex figured out Galahad's weakness and continued jumping to avoid the Earth Imperial General's attacks while counterattacking with sky based attacks doing some damage to Galahad but the Imperial General wasn't injured in the slightest from the attacks.

"Like I said," Galahad said preforming some Earth Bending and doing even more damage to Alex in the process, "Uncle Terrador trained me very well and I've been in countless battles thanks to his training."

"Maybe so but none of your opponents knew how to use surprise attacks such as this," Alex said summoning a tidal wave out of nowhere and blasting Galahad with it ending the battle he was still conscious

"I can't believe it, I'm a trained Imperial Arkeyan General serving in the Emperor's Imperial Guard how did you defeat me?" Galahad asked before passing out.

"Because Alex used her agility and speed," Adinda said to Flynn, Hugo, Cali, and Eon back at the Sanctuary on the Radiant Isles, "Not to mention General Galahad's weaknesses against him."

"Aside from the one relating to all Gaia Arkeyan Sorcerers?" Cali asked as Adinda nodded.

"Galahad was right about one thing," Flynn said, "He was the most powerful Gaia Arkeyan Sorcerer that Alex had to fight."

"Even so the remaining Imperial Generals are sure to be fired up to kill Alex in their battles," Hugo said, "And something tells me that they'll be sure to have seen Alex's surprise attack. She's gonna need to rely on that just to survive the battle."

"And there's no telling what Emperor Drake himself is capable of," Cali added, "Which means we'll have to hope and pray for the best."

The others all nodded at that advice since it was all they could do at that point as they watched Alex pick herself up before moving onto the next battle.


	5. The Wind General

**The Shifting General **

Over in the dimensional wormhole Count Moneybone had taken the Gigant Horse and the Zangyack Space Fleet to use alongside his clockwork army and Eggman's vast and massive Robot Army. The evil genius scientist decided to Join Moneybone on this venture and with them was the heir and new leader of the Zangyack Throne, Akane Gill who had waist length black hair, and a full figure that most women would kill to have due to intensive training but she was part alien since her mother was Ackdos Gill's sister in law and aunt of Warz Gill and Bacchus Gill as well.

"Welcome to the Gigant Horse. I suppose I should go ahead and introduce myself, I am count Moneybone, Lord of the Undead and ruler of the underworld," Count Moneybone said introducing himself.

"And I'm very pleased to meet you at last Count Moneybone," Eggman said as the Gigant Horse was leading the Zangyack Space Armada to the Earth of Alex's home universe, "This is gonna be the easiest venture we've taken yet and the Arkeyans are busy with Alex's gauntlet Challenge and ruling their entire native universe considering they enslaved it."

"Once we destroy this universe and strip it of all of its resources I'll return to my universe a hero and a conquerer," Akane said, "And Malefor's retained the Zangyack Space Empire throne for me while I'm away."

"Provided the Arkeyans don't wipe us out before we even get there," Orbot said speaking up.

"Relax I sent an advance fleet and they'll easily wipe out whatever we may have to fight," Moneybone chimed in.

Alex was walking to the third battle arena in the Emperor's gauntlet and needless to say she looked like hell from her previous battles and the scary part was that the real battle had yet to begin.

"So the prodigal daughter of her home universe shows up at last," Alex heard the minute she entered a grassy battlefield and saw another Imperial General wearing airplane pilot clothes from WWI and this General had green eyes and Spiky brown hair, "I'm Imperial General Gawain and I'm Governor Ventus' Elder cousin and his teacher."

"I already defeated your cousin Ventus and now I have to fight the teacher what are the odd," Alex said to Gawain before getting into a stance as the Imperial General sent a torrent of wind at her throwing her off her feet and forcing her to dodge Gawain's wind based attack.

"You can't dodge forever knave," Gawain said using a tornado blade attack doing even more damage to Alex.

"Knave? In case you forgot I defeated two of your fellow Imperial Generals," Alex reminded.

"Mere luck since Lamorak was inexperience and Galahad forgot what works in training with his Uncle Terrador and training in the dojo doesn't always fly in the field."

Gawain then used another wind based attack sending Alex right into a wall.

"The scary part about what Gawain just said is that he's absolutely right," Adinda said on the Radiant Isles, "As Governor Ventus' Cousin Gawain has been in his fair share of tough battles since Emperor Ryan brought him into the Imperial Guard, King Ryan was a real warlord and swordsman."

"Emperor Ryan wasn't an idiot and unlike his dad Emperor Marcus Ryan loved going to war," Eon said as the battle continued on the viewing mirror, The Sorcerer Empire was much more peaceful when Marcus was in charge."

"That was then and this is now," Cali said as Alex dodged an electric attack from Gawain.

"Even so Alex is beginning to get the hang of this match," Flynn said as Alex fought back with a water based attack doing damage to Gawain before countering Gawain's lightning blade attack with an Earth based shield before finishing him off with a rockslide.

"So it wasn't pure luck that helped you defeat Lamorak and Galahad and now myself," Gawain coughed out before he fainted, "But be warned the other Imperial Generals are much stronger than I am and they were here long before I was even brought into the Imperial Guard. The battle you had against me was the pivotal point in the Emperor's Gauntlet."

"Thanks for the warning but I think I can manage," Alex said leaving for her next match.

Over on Dragon's Peak King Ramses was watching Alex's Progress in the viewing stone.

'Alex has progressed in the gauntlet but the next general is going to be the most powerful Fire Element Arkeyan Sorceress She'll have to face yet and she'll be sure to pull double time to avenge her niece's defeat," King Ramses thought as Flavius showed up.

"King Ramses why have you summoned me?" Flavius said as the King of Dragon's Peak had summoned him, "I don't understand why you called me away from my usual duties sire?"

"Alexandra Ting is fighting the Emperor's Imperial Generals in the Emperor's gauntlet to revive all those slain by the Arkeyan Empire for the dishonor that was committed against them and their race," King Ramses said, "And the Arkeyan Empire now has all of Skylands frightened to the bone and I fear that even if Alex wins her home land will pay the ultimate price."

"But the Arkeyans can't destroy her home world in retaliation for their emperor's defeat," Volteer the Electricity Guardian chimed in as he showed up, "The bylaws of the empire forbid them from doing so but I can only guess that we're not talking about the Arkeyans."

"I fear that it's much worse than that," Cyril the Ice Guardian spoke, "Eggman has returned from his home universe and has teamed up with Count Moneybone and the new leader of the Zangyack Space Empire and is in another Dimension. Alex's home dimension."

"Meaning, if we're not careful we'll be dealing with three massive robot armies but I am a loyal knight of King Ramses I will fight to the bitter end." Flavius said

"Very impressive Flavius but loyalty alone will only take you so far," Blaze the Fire Guardian Dragon Elder said, "The Arkeyan Empire is vast and powerful but the Zangyack Empire is even stronger and Eggman has a massive robot Army and so does Count Moneybone. They're all extremely dangerous but the Zangyack Empire will conquer for the sake of conquering and we'll have to dig deep to stop them once and for all."

"But for now we should continue watching Alex's progress and hope she can get a wish from Skylus to revive all those slain by the Arkeyan Empire," Terrador spoke, "Provided the Dragonballs to summon him have been cleansed."

"And provided nobody else has over used the Dragonballs before cleansing them," Cyril chimed in, "Overuse of the Dragonballs to summon Shenron caused the Governors to mutate into the Shadow Dragons and destroy the earth and her people once before."

The others all shuddered at the devastation caused by the Governors of the Arkeyan Sorcerer Empire when they mutated into the Shadow Dragons but that was mild compaired to the devestation caused when the Arkeyan Empire enslaved the universe, destroyed Avalon and every star and planet in it's galaxy and dimension and eliminated everyone in that dimension but they also eliminated not only everyone who dishonored and enraged the Arkeyan Empire but they eliminate all the relatives of those who dishonored the Arkeyan Empire in the most gruesome ways possible and Emperor Drake had that footage aired in his speech across the infinite dimensions to emphasize the point that the empire has had it with everyone dishonoring the Arkeyans and everyone who sides with bullies instead of their victims and their policy is fire and brimstone from that point on.

The six dragons all knew that the Arkeyans were beyond reason and peace was out the window for them at this point. They could only hope that Alex could defeat the Emperor and revive them and that when all was said and done, Alex would also save the universe and stop Moneybone, Eggman and the Zangyack Empire from destroying her home universe.


	6. The Fire General

**The Fire General **

Alex found herself in what looked like to be a volcanic area of the Emperor's gauntlet and it didn't take her long to figure out that she would have to fight one of Governess Shasta's relatives.

The minute she stepped in she felt like she walked into the fires of hell as the place was literally filled with molten lava and the only solid piece of rock was an arena floating above the lava itself. Standing upon the arena was Governess Shasta's relatives and the next Imperial General. This Imperial General wore feminine red armor and wielded a blade that was forged from meteorite iron, harder than diamond, stronger than steel, and sharper than obsidian volcanic glass.

"Before we begin I need to know this," Alex began, "Who are you and are you Governess Shasta's cousin?"

"I am Imperial General Percival, the strongest Volcanic Arkeyan Sorceress in all the Arkeyan Empire and the second most powerful of all the five Imperial Generals and I'm Governess Shasta's Aunt," Imperial General Percival declared before bum rushing Alex and dealing a heavy attack on the latter which broke some bones.

'I'm out of the frying pan and into the oven,' Alex thought, 'I can feel Percival's power from here and that's not a good sign. This is going to be a very difficult fight.'

Alex attempted to use a water element attack but Percival countered with a powerful flamethrower which not only blasted back the water attack but also burned Alex badly.

'Alex is beginning to feel my power but she's only gotten a taste of it,' Percival thought as she continued to keep up the pressure on Alex, 'I'll show this novice the full fury of a Volcanic Arkeyan Sorceress and the power of an Imperial General of the Arkeyan Sorcerer Empire.'

Alex and Percival continued to exchange blows and avoided devastating attacks from each other as they continued battling it out on the Molten Lava arena in the Emperor's gauntlet..

"Get her Aunt Percival," Flannery cheered back on the Cloudbreak Isles as she watched the battle via an Arkeyan Mirror at Woodburrow, "Show her the power of the Arkeyan Empire."

"you really think that your Aunt Percival can succeed where Aqua's cousin Lamorak, Terrador's nephew Galahad and Ventus' Cousin and teacher Gawain Failed?" Marlon asked Flannery.

"This is Flannery, Malva, and Shasta's aunt we're talking about," Roark reminded, "If she can't defeat Alex then who can? There's a reason she trained Governess Shasta."

"We get it Roark but we can't count Alex out just yet," Luna said, "But still if Emperor Drake does lose the battle then we'll eliminate everyone who dishonored our people and we'll consider putting a bounty on her head. We are the deadliest assassins in the Arkeyan Sorcerer Empire and we rule the Cloudbreak Isles for a reason."

Roark had to be content with that as he knew why he and the other Seven Arkeyan Sorcerers his age ruled the Cloudbreak Isles as the deadliest assassins in the entire empire.

Back at the fight between Alex and Percival the former had taken yet another load of damage from the latter's fire based attacks as the Imperial General continued going on the offensive.

"You may as well yield now while you still can," Percival said, "You have no chance against e. Surrender now and I'll make your death swift and painless Alex."

"I'll never surrender," Alex fired back dodging a fireball attack from the Imperial General before she used a wind based move to dodge Percival's fire power.

"Have it your way then, it's your funeral," the Imperial General stated dashing forward and preforming a drop kick attempting to eliminate Alex but Alex dodged which caused Percival to hit the rocky platform though she did sustain injuries which gave Alex a much needed opening to finish the battle with a well timed water element attack which knocked Percival out cold from the sheer force.

I never had to use that much power in my life but I have a terrible feeling that I'll have to do so again," Alex said breathing heavily as she limped out of the volcanic arena knowing that Percival was a light weight next to the last of the Five Imperial Generals and Alex also knew that even if she won then she'd be out of energy to face the Emperor of the Arkeyan Sorcerer Empire himself, Drake Thompson.

Meanwhile in the last of the five arenas in the Emperor's Gauntlet a shadow was in the dark reviewing all that has happened so far.

"So Shasta's aunt Percival fell in battle. Alex is stronger than expected which means I'll have to take care of business myself on the Emperor's behalf but either way this will be a good match since nobody has gotten this far in over 10,000 years," A mysterious voice shrouded in shadow said, "I'll eliminate Alex in battle, prove to everyone that I earned my place as the Head Imperial General through Skill not through my family's connections and restore honor to not only the Emperor but to the Empire as a whole."

Meanwhile in Alex's Home Universe the Zangyack Space Armada was getting closer and closer to Earth.

"We're almost within striking distance of Earth," Moneybone said, "The Advance Fleet should be doing it's job and eliminating any resistance by now."

"The best part is that this isn't even the full power of the fleet," Eggman added, "According to the advance fleet there's another world above the Skylands and Earth of this Universe and we'll go conquer that too which means that all of this universe will belong to Zangyack."

"And you two will be rewarded handsomely for helping me in this venture," Akane said deviously knowing that the two geniuses would be instrumental in coming up with a plan to take over this universe before the three of them broke out into evil laughter as the Zangyack Space Armada sailed within striking distance of not only earth but also Skylands and the Dragon Realm.


	7. The Head Imperial General

**The Head Imperial General **

The Eight Arkeyan Governors were in the Arkeyan Sorcerer Empire Throne Room of New Camelot discussing all that had happened up to this point since they enslaved the entire universe.

"Looks like your dear aunt Percival wasn't able to slay Alex in battle huh Shasta?" Celestia remarked to the Governess in question, "But then again I'm not all that surprised. The Emperor hasn't put her into battle in a long time and not as often as the Head Imperial General Lancelot or Ventus' Cousin Imperial General Gawain."

"Shut it Celestia," Shasta snapped, "At least my aunt Percival did better than the other three Imperial Generals did. She's more powerful than you think Celestia."

"Be that as it may Shasta we have bigger problems," Kira reminded, "Like the fact that Adinda faced and defeated Ayumi in battle and she's back in charge as the leader of the Mystic Arkeyans which means we'll need a new plan."

"True but at least the Arkeyan Empire still rules the universe and none of the Eternal Dragons can do anything about it," Techno stated, "But Count Moneybone is missing and so is the Zangyack Space Armada. Something tells me that they're planning something fiendish and we'll need to send somebody to go find them and eliminate them on the spot."

"We can't do that unless the Emperor's Gauntlet challenge is over" Flora chimed in, "While the Emperor's busy we are to make sure his six sisters and his soon to be wife are busy running the empire."

"Then we'll just have to hope that Head Imperial General Lancelot eliminates Alex in battle," Terrador Said, "There's a reason why Lancelot is the mightiest of all and the closest to Emperor Drake."

"He was there since the days of King Ryan's reign over the Arkeyan Sorcerer Empire and he was trained by his grandpa king Marcus himself," Aqua chimed in, "Lancelot's the reason why nobody's ever beaten the Imperial Guard in battle for the last 20 years."

"Alex is gonna have her work cut out for her this time," Ventus said, "The head General has been in over 1000 battles and he won them all which cemented his reputation as the greatest Imperial General in the entire Arkeyan Empire."

While the governors continued discussing about Imperial General Lancelot, Adinda was busy making plans back on the Radiant Isles now that she defeated Ayumi in battle and took back her title as leader of the Mystic Arkeyan Sorcerers.

Excellent work on reclaiming your title as leader of the Mystic Arkeyans," Wendel praised Adinda, "Hopefully the more peaceful Arkeyan Sorcerers will now have a voice in the empire."

"Thanks for the compliment Wendel but I'm sure that everyone else here heard what the governors said about Head Imperial General Lancelot," Adinda said to Wendell, Eon, Hugo, Flynn, and Cali.

"Pretty much and everything the governors said about Emperor Drake's cousin is true," Eon stated, "Imperial General Lancelot is the mightiest of all and the closest to Emperor Drake. It'll take a miracle for Alex to defeat him in battle."

"Even if she does defeat Lancelot there's no telling what Emperor Drake's gonna bring to the table when she has to face him," Cali reminded, "And even if Alex does win the battle it'll be a hollow victory since we don't know if Skylus can restore the planets destroyed by the Arkeyans and revive all those slain with one wish and this is a bit minor but that slam the in-crowd website is still up and running and it's been updated with every bad thing that the brat pack's ever done and now there's a new site called slam the Arkeyan Empire's enemies with the enemies of the Arkeyan Empire posted on it and every act committed against them and their allies and they've even posted the deaths of their enemies and shown how they died too."

"This is much worse than I thought," Eon sighed, "But we need to get back to the subject of Skylus."

"Skylus was never intended to grant a wish of that scale with only one wish but I recently modified Skylus so that he can grant two wishes in the event one of them was a mass revival," Wendell said, "And given Adinda's use of the dragon I had to cleanse the dragonballs themselves so they'd be safe for use but either way we should cheer for Alex to win."

"That's right because at this point Alex is our only hope to revive all those slain by the Empire's rage," Hugo spoke, "Once we finish that we must stop the Zangyack Empire."

"We nearly forgot about the Zangyack Empire in all the chaos," Flynn spoke, "But we did defeat Kaos, Hektore, Captain Frightbeard and the shadow dragons so we'll easily defeat Zangyack, slay their leaders and save all of existence. Boom!"

While Flynn was motivating everyone else with his speech Alex continued onwards to battle the last of the five Imperial Generals.

'This is it the last of the Imperial Generals awaits me behind those doors,' Alex thought as the doors to the last Imperial General's Arena opened and as they did Alex could feel the power of the General from where she stood, 'And this general is not messing around, he's geared up and ready to kill. I better brace myself.'

Alex stepped in and saw a simple battle arena in the Empire's colors of Red and Gold and the Imperial General was already waiting and ready to fight.

"I'm sure you already know this but I'm the last of the five Imperial Generals but what you don't know is that I'm Emperor Drake's elder cousin and I'm going to eliminate you here and now or my name isn't Imperial General Lancelot," Lancelot declared before socking Alex with a sucker punch sending her flying.

"At least I know you don't mess around," Alex said as she tried a drop kick but missed only to dodge a karate chop from Lancelot himself which left him open to a punch.

The two of them continued duking it out with punches and kicks as neither of them refused to give an inch to the other as the battle raged on. Eventually Lancelot took an opening and tossed Alex over his shoulder and into a wall before he broke out the earth bending forcing Alex to counter with Wind based attacks.

"So you're not just a one trick pony after all. Let's see how you fight this," Lancelot bellowed breaking out the lightning and fire spells sending both of them at Alex which hit their marks and inflicted massive damage.

"This is not looking good for Alex," Hugo said panicking back at the Radiant Isles, "and she's supposed to be a martial arts master back on her world but I think she may be in way over her head in this fight."

"Relax Hugo, Alex is doing fine out there," Flynn said as Alex delivered a mud based attack which countered the fire and lightning attack from Lancelot, "So relax little buddy."

Back at the battlefield Alex and Lancelot were both fighting with everything they had and they weren't holding back anything either rand Lancelot still hand the upper hand in the battle.

'This general is the strongest Arkeyan Imperial General I've ever faced yet but I can't yield now,' Alex thought dodging another water attack before using a water attack.

'Emperor Drake wanted me to see if she was even worthy of a wish from the eternal Dragon but he also said that our empire's honor is at stake so I better break out the big guns,' Lancelot thought before combining magic and his martial arts training to unleash the best he had and prove his reputation as the post powerful of all the five Arkeyan Sorcerer Empire's Imperial Generals.

Lancelot preformed a devastating fire powered karate chop but Alex blocked it and countered with an ice punch with stunned Lancelot enough for Alex to escape the fire spell.

"Let's finish this!" Lancelot and Alex sad at almost the exact time as they both preformed their strongest attacks intending to finish up this fight.

Lancelot prepared a massive thunder spell while Alex countered with a powerful fire based spell with blue flames surrounding her as they both fired their strongest attacks. The resulting collision of power created a massive tornado of power but neither of them was giving an inch to their opponent but eventually Alex's attack overpowered that of Lancelot's and left a trail of blue flames that exploded and damaged Lancelot heavily in the process.

The scene was silent for a few moments as the combatants were still on their feet even after all that intense fighting and injuries but it appeared that Lancelot's injuries were devastating and on cue he fell backwards unconscious giving Alex the victory in the Emperor's gauntlet.

"Yes I did it!" Alex cheered loudly as the door that led to Emperor Drake's throne room opened allowing Alex to face the Emperor himself and hopefully obtain, from Skylus, her wish to revive all those slain by the Arkeyan Sorcerer Empire and restore Avalon and every star and planet in Avalon's galaxy but little did she know was that he last thing she expected from the Arkeyan Weapon Masters themselves would serve as the final test.

"So the guardian of the Dragon Realm in her home universe wants an audience with me does she well little does she know I have a surprise in store for her the minute she shows up a big surprise," Emperor Drake said in his throne room before laughing as eight silhouettes were also in the Throne room awaiting the final test in the Emperor's gauntlet.


	8. The Greatest Surprise

**The Greatest Surprise **

In Kaos' Fortress Malefor, Muir and Kaos were going over battle plans with a newly revived Hektore and a newly freed Captain Frightbeard when Eggman, Count Moneybone, Glumshanks, and Akane returned to the fortress burned badly and beaten down.

"Why what's the matter everyone?" Kaos asked seeing the state they were in, "You guys look different somehow almost as if you've been burned badly and you carry the stench of failure. Looks like you failed in your mission to conquer Alex's home universe didn't you."

"You got that right and that blasted Arkeyan Sorcerer Empire and Arkeyan Robot empire exists there too and they wiped out the entire fleet," Akane snapped, "They damaged the Gigant Horse so badly that Eggman had to get his Battleship just to tow it to his world for repairs."

"And it's gonna take a tleast a year to get the Zangyack Fleet back up to it's former military might even with the Eternal Tech Source," Eggman said knowing full well that the Gigant Horse is out of action for some time.

"SO I know this may sound moot but what do we do know?" Glumshanks questioned.

"Cause a bi tof chaos and let Emperor Drake destroy the Earth and it's people," Malefor said, "And the easiest way to do that is to get him mad enough to destroy the earth."

"Great idea genius but how do you suppose we do it?" Hektore snapped, "The Emperor isn't easy to piss off as the Governors are."

"We simply break into the King's vault and steal the contents of the vault itself" Malefor replied presenting some files, "And we use Stacey and her gang to break in to the vault for us."

"Nice idea Malefor except one problem," Akane said, "They're all dead since the Arkeyans enslaved this entire universe and you eliminated Tchang Zu did you forget that you fool?"

"We have his chi so he can return anytime provided somebody knows the spell," Muir said, "And we have samples of the Eternal Sources and the Petrified Darkness but I'm interested to hear how you plan to pull of this new caper Malefor."

"Alex is unknowingly going to preform step one for us and it's been at least a year," Malefor said as his dark magic projected a vision of the Emperor's throne room.

"But what if she fails in doing that?" Akane asked.

"Then we'll go to plan B," Eggman said, "And send in Hektore, Frightbeard, and Moneybone to break into the Emperor's vault."

Alex made it to the Emperor's throne room with a big surprise awaited her. Emperor Drake was sitting in his throne with a Jury Box to his right and in the jury box was Princess Luna of the Cosmic Arkeyans, Princess Flannery of the Volcanic Arkeyans, Princess Kayleigh of the Phantom Arkeyans, Prince Roark of the Gaia Arkeyans and Prince Marlon of the Aquatic Arkeyans and three new Arkeyan Sorcerers that Alex had never seen before in her life.

The first was a female that had light brown hair and eyes with simple beads in her hair and wore a white jacket over a light blue dress, the second was a male that wore a green tunic and brown pants and a green cap with blonde hair, the last was a female that had black hair and brown eyes and wore a simple flower kimono but she looked like somebody you did not want to cross.

"Welcome to the last battle of the Emperor's Gautnlet only it's not a battle it's a debate," Emperor Drake said, "This last test was added by my peace loving grandfather Emperor Marcus within the last 2000 years. This is where you must explain why you have come here and why we should even let you get a wish from the mighty Eternal Dragon."

"A debate seriously? I was expecting another battle with the Emperor," Alex said. "I didn't expect the peanut gallery."

"Watch your mouth you insolent worm!" Kayleigh snapped sending a spectral lightning bolt at Alex blasting her right into the door.

"Aside from that blitz attack do you really thing you can survive a battle with the emperor himself after going five rounds with the Imperial Generals?" Luna stated rhetorically, "Use your head!"

Alex conceded defeat knowing that Princess Luna was right. She couldn't survive another battle as the fight against Head Imperial General Lancelot so she began to prepare her speech.

"So before we begin we just want to let you know that Genghis is unavailable due to him needing more time to recharge and Porunga's Dragonballs are back in his home universe, Also Shenron's not returning for at least 100 years.," Roark said, "So the only one left is Skylus so hopefull youll have a good reason to call him."

"I do have a good reason and all I have to say is that I'm fighting for the lives of all those slain since the race to the Lost City of Arkus began," Alex spoke giving her speech.

"Do you really think that Alex will be able to convince the Governors to spare her life and let her revive all those slain since the Race to Arkus Began?" Hugo asked on the Radiant isles.

"Well it's nearly impossible to convince the Arkeyans at this point," Eon said, "But we must not give up so easily."

"True and besides Alex knows what she's doing," Flynn said as she gave her speech and gave her case.

"But the question is will her case be enough?" Cali questioned, "A lot is riding on this."

"The Jury is about to deliberate," Adinda said.

Meanwhile on the Cloudbreak Isles the Villains in Kaos' Fortress were watching the deliberations as well.

"So how does it look so far?" Kaos asked.

"It's been nearly an hour and the Jury looks ready to give their decision," Count Moneybone said, "Whatever it is we'll easily win no matter what cause when all's said and done we'll rule all of Skylands."

Back at the Emperor's Throne Room the Emperor was about to make a decision.

"Have you made a decision?" Emperor Drake asked Luna and the Jury.

"We have your highness," Luna said, "And after everything that was said and done we've decided to grant Alex use of the Eternal Dragon Skylus however if any act of dishonor is committed against our people again another Emperor's Gauntlet Challenge won't revive those who dishonored us again!"

"They're granting the wish they're granting the wish!" Hugo said back on the Radiant Isles as the Eternal Dragon Skylus showed up in the Viewing Mirror.

"Let's not celebrate just yet," Cali said, "There's still the matter of Kaos, Malefor, and Eggman out there."

"Cali's right but for now all those that had been slain since the defeat of the Shadow Dragons are being revived as we speak and Skylus is restoring Avalon and all the stars and planet's in its dimension and reviving all those slain by the Arkeyans," Eon said, "Of course the Universe is still under the iron rule of the Arkeyans but reviving all those who dishonored them and restoring their planets is a start."

"True and it shows that the Empire isn't that cruel," Wendell said, "But now that the Iron Fist is in the hands of King Optimus I fear that Kaos is up to something big."

"For now we'll just have to wait and see what he's got planned," Flynn spoke up as the last vision showed Alex returning to her home dimension via worm hole and the eight Arkeyan Jurors returning to the Cloudbreak Isles.


End file.
